Compressor control



May 9, 1950 H. E. ROSE 2,506,743

COMPRESSOR CONTROL Filed Feb. 12, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 i [g I lg .L 1 4 E M J 5 E q I /9 17 5 ml 40 I u.n.c. 5k W/T B INVENTOR.

HoweRo E. Ross BY J y 1950 H. E. RosE 2,506,743

COMPRESSOR CONTROL Filed Feb. 12, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 9 IN V EN TOR.

'i atented May .l i-umw 5s TATE'S PATENT core Hew'ara EeRose, -Peninsula,-0hio, assigmr' m Th Weatherheadpompanv, Cleveland, Ohio; a cotporation of Ohio nineteen v-- Thisyi-nventionrelates to compressors, morepartichlarly tocompressors provi'dedwith means to automatically adj-list the clearance space in the yiind'erifor controlling the amount of pressure developed and the Work done by the compressor.

-Hretdfore there have be'en' many arrangements for theifegulation-of theoutput of the compressor; including several devices for effecting this. regulation by adjusting the .c1earance pocket in the compressor c-ylinden The devices ofthe prior artlembodied' several undesirable features, particularly in connection with the high-speed light-- weightcqmpressors currently provided in certain auxiliary installations in aircraft. Prior devices have required-complex arrangements of piping,

multiple valves, .electricaconta'cts and motors,:.dia-.

;phragms; ,etc. .to provide automatic regulation. Thesesystems are heavy;:expensive, and subject to-.maladjustment and they are p'articularlynn; suitable for. aircrait ins allations. Achordi ly, it iseanobj ect of this iIJ-VQHfiOXLt QrPIQViQQ auto ma 'c reeula i nof pressure withouthsing a complea arrangement of parts by.;.providing a .com: Presser fin sh-is at lan e. si p e. l ht inrweieht I f maintenamze. problemswhroadly .1. M n N. 7. th1s ylinder head; being .posi

yalven ption'of the accompanying draw:

s pr i i ieerhea i. ,whioh i va, iw nat callr v nrtheomamsyli den.naspecial; mating eesbeine qnir dr.

4 Claims. (01. 230-21) the cylinder A isfitted with a reciprocating piste o5 at's'ea ever; Itis we drical sleeve member which ed eedrp m n l-litg.wh ah QDBQQLJQQIQ a B w ich-piston is d'iivi'i bythe. prime maverthrough "connectingrod I. The piston pro vided with a skirt 2 Whiohgiiid'es it within a 'cylin'? member rorms part of the cylin'd'er assi'rilci'lyA1 SleeVe'memberB is formed with one hr-more intake apertures l andan inlet nipple I or o't'er attaching means-roe conduits is provided. Sliding withincylinder;

, member 3 is a movable 'c'ylintler head (Lmad'e' of two parts in the illustrated: embodiment for ease; of manufacture and assembly; These parts'aie' a body portion 5' and a closure portion Sathre'aded' into the body portion; Aspi ing liis pr'ovide'd abo'vet-he movable cylinder head whichspring-Js retained in. the upper portion or the cylinder-by an adjustable cap 612 threaded tothe cylinder bodyh Spring 6 in' ge's'the' movable cylinder head 0 towards the piston this m'otionbeing: limited by engagementof a flange] onthe cylinderehead with a portion '8 of the vcylinder sleeve memberiisa The movable cylinder head'Ctis. fitted withing sets of packing 9, 30 provide a fluidtight; seal ion the compression chamber Him Cylindenhead-Ciis: formed with a central chamber LLwhichrhouses, a check valve assembly Thisaass'emblyjnclndesi. a valve spring-guide l1 la;S1iIfI!O11Iided;h aavalvej, s ring I2,. .and, a.. disc-likecheckivalyedlh aperture .14, is provided" imthe ,in er endhofulehei cylinder. head Q1011 the;.,egness,ofithehol ptess d fiuid,..and an annulangroove .l3.is fomnedfi.a diha cent this aperture to provide a valve seat 13a 1501;,

-. A a- Moi-s. M W. W- as,

we 0 center on, an airpl decreases steadily with altitude so that a compressor which produces the required amount of compressed air at the highest altitude would require some method of control to prevent it irom producing an excess or compressed air at sea level. Such a control is automatically and simply provided by my invention.

Assume that the adjustable cap Ed has been positioned to so tension spring 6 that the compressor will deliver the desired amount, of air at the highest altitude. Then, as illustrated in Fig. 2, at the highest altitude, as the piston approaches upper dead center the movable cylinder head C will remain in the neighborhood of its lower position with flange l ad acent stop portion 8 of the cylinder sleeve. As the piston continues its compression stroke clearance volume It: gradually decreases, and under these circumstances when the piston reaches upper dead center the clearance volume is at aminimum. This means that all the air which entered the cylinder when skirt 2 of the piston uncovered the inlet port t is forced out aperture 14, lifting check valve V and exhausting through aperture lta, l6 and Il respectively.

' The condition of the compressor when operating at lower altitudes is shown in Fig. 1, the cylinder being the same distance from upper dead center in this figure as it was in Fig. 2. However, as the constant stroke piston uncovers the inlet port 4 at lower altitudes, the weight of charge admitted thereby tends to be greater than the weight of charge admitted at higher altitudes. For this reason, for a given piston position on the compression stroke, the pressure within the cylinder always tends to be greater at the lower altitudes. The result is that at lower altitudes, before the piston reaches the end of its compression stroke, the pressure within the cylinder equals that for which the spring was set and once that pressure is equaled, further motion of the piston merely causes the movable cylinder head C to move with it against the spring while discharging air through the valve V. Thus the clearance volume which remains when the piston reaches upper dead center is greater than before, sothat a though an increased weight of charge was introduced into the cylinder, that excess weight of charge merely remains in the clearance of the cylinder rather than being expelled out the exhaust. Under these conditions as the piston makes its return stroke, the charge in the cylinder re-expands helping push the piston to the intake position and at'the end of the'stroke the charge remaining in the cylinder is closer to intake pressure, but the only additional charge which enters the cylinder is that equivalent to the amount delivered through the check valve V by the piston on its, compression stroke. This arrangement saves power in that no excess over the pre-set amount is delivered by the compressor.

'The compressor is designed so that the relation of cylinder head inertia, spring pressure and piston speed is such that the movable cylinder head is incapable of following the piston completely during the exhaust stroke. This means that in some cases the cylinder head C will tend to remain at a position representing a pre-determined mean effective pressure'in the cylinder, and in no case will the cylinder head be able to make a complete stroke and strike the cylinder sleeve at 8.

r The foregoing explanation of the operation of my. compressor control has been made in connection with an aircraft installation which must c act upon air of difierent densities. However, my compressor control can be used to regulate the pressure of air in the receiver at any one altitime or air density, the operation or the device lll this case being the same as that previously QESOIIIJEQ. F01 example, assume that. .b'ig. 2 SHOWS the device operating at a 1311116 WHED. the pressure in the receiver connecting to exhaust nipple ill equals the pressure Ior which spring 6 has been set. Now suppose that the demand of air or other IllllG. Irom the receiver suddenly stops so that pressure in the receiver tends to build up to a value above the pie-determined value. In this case, as can be seen in Fig. 1, once pressure within the cylinder equals the pre-determmed pressure in the receiver system. further motion or the piston in its compression stroke merely rals'es'the movable cylinder head against spring 6. During this phase of the operation no additional air isrorced into the receiver, and the additional work done by the compressor is that of compressing spring 6. Excluding I'riction losses, the work of compressmg spring 6 is recaptured on the return stroke. Thus it can be seen that the control of my invention is effected without the need for wasteful bleed on valves in the receiver system. Likewise, it can be seen that the provision or a simple direct acting spring loaded cylinder head provides the necessary regulation and control or the output or the compressor without need of complicated and troublesome external valves and conduit arrangements.

Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that modihcations may be made in many of the design details of my compressor without departing from the spirit of my invention. For example, the valve V and its associated structure can be formed in accordance with the design of standard check valve. Likewise, the cylinder sleeve or 40 liner could be integral with the body of the cylinder. Furthermore, the exact arrangements of inlet and exhaust ports can be modified from that shown in the drawings in accordance with standard practice. These and various other changes in construction and arrangement of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Having thus described the present invention so that others skilled in the art may be able to understand and practice the same, I state that what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is defined in what is claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination in a compressor having a reciprocating piston, a cylinder, and inlet and outlet ports; a member slidably mounted in said cylinder and having one face cooperating with said piston and cylinder to define the entire clearance volume in the pressure chamber of said compressor, said movable member, having its opposite face subjected to a constant pressure independent of that created by the compressor, said movable member being spring loaded to reduce the clearance volume in said pressure chamber, pressure in said clearance volume acting on said movable member and against said spring to increase the clearance volume during the compression stroke, said movable member being balanced with regard to outlet pressure, means to limit the stroke of. said slidable member, the change in clearance volume being uniform and directly proportional to motion of said slidable member during the entire rangeof motion thereof.

2.. In combination in a compressor having a reciprocating piston, a cylinder, and inlet and outvolume in the pressure chamber of said compres sor, said movable member having its opposite face subjected to a constant pressure independent of that created by the compressor, said movable member being spring loaded to reduce the clearance volume in said pressure chamber, pressure in said clearance volume acting on said movable member and against said spring to increase the clearance volume during the compression stroke, said movable member being balanced with regard to outlet pressure, means to limit the stroke of said slidable member, the change in clearance volume being uniform and directly proportional to motion of said slidable member during the entire range of motion thereof, the relation of the inertia of said movable member, the spring loading, and the piston speed being such that the movable member makes only a partial stroke during a cycle. 7

3. In combination in a compressor having a reciprocating piston, a cylinder, and inlet and outlet ports; a member slidably mounted in said cylinder and having one face cooperating with said piston and cylinder to define the entire clearance volume in the pressure chamber of said compressor, said movable member having its opposite face subjected to an intake pressure, said movable member being spring loaded to reduce the clearance volume in said pressure chamber, pressure in said clearance volume acting on said movable member and against said spring to increase the clearance volume during the compression stroke, said movable member being balanced with regard to outlet pressure, means to limit the stroke of said slidable member, the change in clearance volume being uniform and directly proportional to motion of said slidable member during the en- 40 tire range of motion thereof.

' 4. In combination in a compressor having a reciprocating piston, a cylinder, and inlet and outlet ports, a member slidably mounted in said cylinder and having one face cooperating with said piston and cylinder to define the entire clearance volume in the pressure chamber of said compressor, said movable member having its opposite face subjected to a pressure independent of that created by the compressor, said movable member including a chamber having an inlet port and an exhaust port with a check valve therebetween, the exhaust port in said movable member communicating with the compressor exhaust port, the exhaust pressure on said movable member being balanced, said movable member being spring loaded to reduce the clearance volume in said pressure chamber, pressure in said clearance volume acting on said movable member and against said spring to increase the clearance volume during the compression stroke, means to limit the stroke of said slidable member, the change in clearance volume being uniform and directly proportional to motion of said slidable member during the entire range of motion thereof.

HOWARD E. ROSE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record'in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 800,769 Steinbart Oct. 3, 1905 1,154,798 Palmer Sept. 28, 1915 2,423,677 Balogh July 8. 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 1,859 I Australia of 1931 

